NTSB to Investigate SFO Allision

The National Transportation Safety Board today announced it is investigating an allision Monday between the oil tanker Overseas Reymar and one of the supports of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

The NTSB named Barry Strauch the investigator-in-charge. Strauch will coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard, which classified the accident today as a "major marine casualty," because the incident exceeded the threshold of more than $500,000 in property damage.

The NTSB investigated a similar accident in 2007, when the container ship Cosco Busan hit the Bay Bridge and spilled thousands of gallons of fuel oil into the San Francisco Bay. In the Cosco Busan accident, the NTSB determined that a medically unfit pilot, an ineffective master, and poor communications between the two were the cause of the accident. Investigators will be reviewing the circumstances of yesterday's accident in light of the safety recommendations made following the Cosco Busan accident.